My tin row boat

[MotoXcowboy]

has a slow leak and the keel is tore up..

one of my friends said I could fix by fiberglassing over the old keel, then add a strip of wood and cover that w/ glass to match where the rear portion keel is missing. Said it would work to patch up the bottom too..(pinhole somewhere in the bow)

I didnt know you could glass over tin/aluminum...

is he right? I figure, someone on here can confirm this method (glass over tin) before I buy materials..

thanks

[MrHunters]

im no expert at glassing but my father used to fiberglass everything.. From stairs to the floor of my 79 F100 classic pickup truck. So Im guessing that it is most definatly possible. . I have most certainly seen things that you would ask "can you glass that?"

[thefishingfreak]

errrrrrrrrr...???


yes and no.....

qiuck fix yes...

long term.... go to homies and get more thick sheet aluminum. bend it to shape,,,, and pop rivot it in there,,, with 5200

[Raven]

on my aluminum jon-boat...i had scraped the hull so many times
getting stuck out in " hell hole".... also known as A-1

its a flooded section of trees and at "certain times" (water levels) you could get so damn stuck on top of a tree that you'd be out there rocking forever and cursing life.... and be so freakin pissed that you'd wanna get ashore and walk away from your boat and all your gear.... that's how mad it makes you..!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
onto the repair... being that its metal: what i did was to scratch it up real good with a sharp tool (chisel edge) and make a criss cross pattern in the metal or a grid... then i apply a thin layer of bondo
to that area (1/8th to 1/4 of an inch thick) ....and just before it sets up you make the criss cross pattern again in the bondo and let it dry good.

bondo is resin based so fiberglass resin and cloth stick to it very well , but it will just peel off aluminum alone. afterwards you can add some plywood to take the wear instead of grinding off your glass patch... mine hasnt leaked since............

i have repaired gas tanks with this method....too...

[MotoXcowboy]

thanks for all the info guys..i appreciate it.

[Nebe]

Originally Posted by thefishingfreak

long term.... go to homies and get more thick sheet aluminum. bend it to shape,,,, and pop rivot it in there,,, with 5200

Freak is correct. pop rivits and 52oo marine caulk is the way to go.

[Fishpart]

Riveting on new Al is a good way.

Walk over to ABCO Welding and see what ideas those guys ma have, a welded patch is less likely to leak than riveted.

Also keep in mind they epoxy and rivet helicopters together....

[fish4striper]

I had a crack in my old aluminum boat.

used that aluminum solder and pop riveted a plate over it, held fine.

[RIROCKHOUND]

If it is one pin hole then put a rivet in the hole (drill it out big enough for the rivit, then put some 5200 over it... we did that with an old mirracraft we had.

[MotoXcowboy]

put it this way...the whole is so small I cant find it...

the keel is what I really wanna fix/beef up so when I get a lil outboard she turns better and the rocks dont put her out of commision

[RIROCKHOUND]

Holes are easy... heres what we did...
Block or put the boat on a trailer.
Plug the drain hole
Fill with water from the hose.
Circle pin holes with a sharpie and then patch

If you arent beaching her alot you can probably get away with it. She'll still handle fine as is for turning etc.. You might want to just rivet a flat piece over the missing keel section to renforce the bondo patches...

["uffah!!"]

Hey Moto, did you ever think of repairing yourself with Alumaloy? All you need is some scrap aluminum and a propane torch. Alumaloy is like a welding rod for aluminum. Nice thing is that you only have to heat to about 750 degrees.

[MotoXcowboy]

Originally Posted by uffah!!

Hey Moto, did you ever think of repairing yourself with Alumaloy? All you need is some scrap aluminum and a propane torch. Alumaloy is like a welding rod for aluminum. Nice thing is that you only have to heat to about 750 degrees.

oh yeah..i forgot about that stuff! where can I get some? Home Depot? Sears? last i remember it was only an TV Infomercial product. I'll search it.

I figure..some sheet metal, rivets and that stuff should do the trick (for the keel)..or the 5200

yeah rockhound..yer right. i gotta get her up on blocks n try n find the leak that way.. very small hole..i could prob just sand/grind, then bondo the whole bow bottom to take care of the leak i suppose..

I beach it alot..hit/drift into rocks alot too...

["uffah!!"]

Alumaloy.net